Warp knitting machine

ABSTRACT

WARP KNITTING MACHINE HAVING A ZONE WHEREIN KNITING NEEDLES ARE DISPOSED AND MEANS FOR SUPPLYING WARP THREADS TO THE NEEDLES INCLUDES DEVICE FOR FILLING A WEFT HAVING HOLDER MEMBERS ROTATABLE IN CLOSED TRAVEL PATHS OUTSIDE THE NEEDLE ZONE AND DISPOSED IN THE VICINITY OF WEFT REVERSAL LOCATIONS, MEANS FOR GUIDING THE WEFT TO THE WARP THREADS, AND A THREAD GUIDE COOPERATING WITH THE HOLDER MEMBERS FOR MAKING THE WEFT READY, THE THREAD GUIDE BEING LOCATED AT ONE END OF A ROD BENT IN THE FORM   OF A CRANK AND BEING ROTATABLE ABOUT A BEARING PORTION LOCATED ADJACENT THE OTHER END THEREOF, THE BENT ROD BEING OF HOLLOW TUBULAR CONSTRUCTION AT LEAST AT THE BEARING PORTION THEREOF AND BEING FORMED OF AT LEAST TWO PARTS ANNULULARLY ADJUSTABLE RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER.

Feb. 16, 1971 s. FURST WARP KNITTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 4, 1969 Feb. 16, 1971 s. FURST 3,563,061

WARP KNITTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 1, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.2

. 220 I i 22/ 2 22 2/8 I 223 22 United States Patent 3,563,061 WARP KNITTING MACHINE Stefan Fiirst, Monchen-Gladbach, Germany, assignor to Walter Reiners, Monclien-Gladbach, Germany Filed Aug. 4, 1969, Ser. No. 847,063 Claims priority, application Germany, Aug. 6, 1968, P 17 85 063.4-26 Int. Cl. D04b 23/00 US. CI. 66-86 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOURE Warp knitting machine having a zone wherein knitting needles are disposed and means for supplying warp threads to the needles includes device for filling a weft having holder members rotatable in closed travel paths outside the needle zone and disposed in the vicinity of weft reversal locations, means for guiding the Weft to the warp threads, and a thread guide cooperating with the holder members for making the weft ready, the thread guide being located at one end of a rod bent in the form of a crank and being rotatable about a bearing portion located adjacent the other end thereof, the bent rod being of hollow tubular construction at least at the bearing portion thereof and being formed of at least two parts angularly adjustable relative to one another.

My invention relates to warp knitting machine and more particularly to warp knitting machine of the type described and illustrated in my copending application Ser. No, 840,161, (F-25,077), filed July 9, 1969.

In my copending application, I disclose a warp knitting machine having a zone wherein knitting needles are disposed and means for supplying warp threads to the needles including a device for filling a weft having holder members for making the Weft ready outside the needle zone, the holder members being disposed in the vicinity of weft reversal locations and being rotatable in closed travel paths, and means for guiding the weft to the warp threads. The holder members have a thread guide cooperating therewith for making the weft ready, the thread guide being displaceable in the closed travel path of one of the holder members. The thread guide is located at one end of a rod bent in the form of a crank, the rod being rotatable about a bearing portion located adjacent the other end thereof and being of hollow tubular construction at least at the bearing portion thereof.

As disclosed further in my aforementioned copending application, the closed travel path of the thread guide is in the form of a circle, an ellipse, an oval or the like.

An object of the invention of the instant application is to provide warp knitting machine with a device for filling a weft that is improved over that of my copending application in that it permits travel of the thread guide over an elliptical path in an especially advantageous manner.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, I provide warp knitting machine with an improved device for filling a weft wherein the rotatably mounted tubular rod is formed of at least two parts angularly adjustable relative to one another.

In accordance with a further feature of my invention, each of the rod parts is driven by a drive mechanism, the drive mechanisms being coupled to one another.

According to another feature of my invention, one of the rod parts is formed with the bearing portion, and the other of the rod parts has one end thereof connected to an end of the one rod part, the thread guide being located at the other end of the other rod part.

To prevent twisting of the weft during the travel thereof ice about its elliptical path, the thread guide at the free or other end of the other rod part is articulatingly and angularly disposed relative to the center point of the travel path. Moreover, I provide drive mechanism for the thread guide which is coupled to the drive mechanisms for the rod parts so as to permit the adjustment of the thread guide at every location on the travel path thereof to the center point of the travel path.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.

Althought the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in warp knitting machine, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.

The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view partly in section of a warp knitting machine, more particularly a Raschel knitting machine, constructed in accordance with my invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of the device for filling a Weft as seen from the left hand side of FIG. 1, including the rotatably mounted rod parts at one end of which the thread guide is mounted and showing the travel paths of the rod parts; and

FIG. 3 is a top plan View of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings and first particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a Raschel knitting machine having a projecting arm 2 secured by connecting members or cross-pieces 66 and 67 to a frame side wall 1. A pair of cross wound bobbins or cheeses 3 and 4 are carried by the arm 2, and the threads wound thereon are connected in a conventional manner for the purpose of affording continuous unwinding of a weft 5 therefrom. Partial warp beams 34 and 35 are rotatably mounted on the upper part of the side wall 1, and warp threads 36 and 37 lead therefrom, respectively, through spring seesaws or rocker arms 38 and 38' to eye needles 39 and 40 and therefrom to latch needles 31 of the knitting machine. The latch needles 31 are secured by a needle bar 21 to a carrier rod 23. The knitting machine has a main drive shaft 17 which carries a cam 18 by means of which a lever 20, carrying follower rollers 69 and in engagement with the surface of the cam 18, is pivotable about a pivot shaft 19 fixed, for example, to the side wall 1. The lever 20' is connected by an articulating joint 22 with the carrier rod 23 supporting the needle 'bar 21 and raises and lowers the latter in accordance with the motion imparted thereto by the rotating cam 18. The carrier rod 23 is connected at its lower end, as viewed in FIG. 1, through an articulating joint 24 to a pull lever 25, which is rotatably mounted on a pin 26 extending from the side wall 1. A cutting plate 27 is fixed to the side wall 1 and extends transversely thereto. Fabric material 28 which has been knitted in the Raschel knitting machine of the invention is withdrawn from the needles 31 by rotatably mounted feed rollers 29 and 30, suitably driven, for example, through non-illustrated transmission mechanism from the main drive shaft 17, and is wound on a beam 32. At the upper part of the side wall 1, as viewed in FIG. 1, a traverse or cross beam 33 is mounted transversely to the side wall 1.

In the vicinity of weft reversal points, located at substantially the lateral limits of the fabric web 28, respective holder members 41 are disposed (only one of which is shown in FIG. 1). The holder members 41 are driven through drive means 43, such as a chain or belt, by a drive or sprocket wheel 44 mounted on a rotating shaft 14. The shaft 14 receives its driving power through a bevel gear 15 mounted thereon and meshing with another bevel gear 16 fixed to the main drive shaft 17 of the Raschel knitting machine.

The device 200 for filling a weft according to my invention is rotatably mounted by a hollow shaft 203 in bearings provided in a connecting member or cross-piece 9 securely fixed to the frame side wall 1. A sprocket or chain wheel 11 is mounted on the hollow shaft 203 of the device 200 for driving the device 200 through a chain 12 and a further sprocket or chain wheel 13 secured to the rotary shaft 14 driven off the main shaft 17. The weftfilling device 200 of my invention, as shown in FIG. 1 includes two rod parts 201 and 208 that are pivotally connected to one another. In the interest of clarity the weftfilling device 200- is shown in considerably enlarged view in FIGS. 2 and 3, with the rod parts 201 and 208 thereof in fully extended condition. The device 200' as shown in FIG. 2 is in an operating position perpendicular to the center of the fabric web 28.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the components of the weft-filling device 200 of my invention and the travel paths thereof in an especially clear view. A radially inner rod part 201 is provided with a counterweight 10 at one extremity thereof and the tubular shaft 203 extending perpendicularly from a location thereof spaced from the counterweight 10. The end of the inner rod part 201 opposite the counterweight 10 is formed as a bearing 205 having a pulley or sheave 206 nonrotatably fixed thereto. The bearing 205 serves for rotatably receiving therein a pin 207 about which a radially outer rod part 208 is pivotable. A counterweight 209 extends from the end of the outer rod part 208 pivoting on the pin 207, the free end of the outer rod part 208 being formed with a bearing 210. A sheave or pulleys 211 is rigidly mounted on the pin 207 and is connected by a chain or belt 216 with a sheave or pulley 204 fixed to the crosspiece holder member 9 and surrounding the opening therein in which the tubular shaft 203 of the weft-filling device 200 is rotatably mounted.

A bent or angle-shaped thread guide 212 formed with an eye 213 is pivotable on a pin 214 received in the bearing 210. A sheave or pulley 215 is also rigidly mounted on the pin 214 and is connected by a chain or belt 217 to the fixed sheave 206. Thus, any rotation of the rod parts 201 and 208 is transmitted respectively through the chains or belts 216 and 217.

In addition, there is shown in solid lines in FIG. 2 an extended position of the rod parts 201 and 208 wherein the thread guide 213 is substantially located at one of the weft reversal points. In a non-illustrated extended position of the rod parts 201 and 208 wherein the thread guide 213 is substantially located at the other weft reversal point, the axis of the sheave 215 or the pin 214 is located at the point 232. The phantom position of the weft-filling device 200 shown by dot-dash lines in FIG. 2 represents a location of the rod parts 201 and 208 as well as other components of the Weft-filling device 200 at a subsequent location on the circular travel path 218 in the direction of the arrowhead associated therewith. It is thus believed to be readily apparent from FIG. 2 that, due to the coupling of the thread guide 212 with the rod parts 201 and 208, the eye 213 formed in the bent portion of the thread guide 212 faces toward the center or axis of the tubular shaft 203 at every point at which the axis of the pin 207 and the bearing 205 of the rod part 201 is located on the circular travel path 218 thereof. The points 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224 and 225 indicate equally spaced positions on the circular travel path 218 which are assumed by the axis of the pin 207 and the bearing 205 on the circular travel path in the course of a quarter rotation of the rod part 201. Points 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231 and 232 represent the position of the axis of the pin 214 and accordingly the thread guide 212 and of the bearing 210 of the outer rod part 208, at the respective positions 219225 of the axis of the pin 207 and the bearing 205. The dot-dash lines respectively connecting the points 226-232 to the points 219225 represent the length of the outer rod part 208 between the axes of the pins 207 and 214. A line connecting the points 226-232 represents part of an elliptical travel path 233 along which the thread guide 213 is guided by rotation of the sheave 211 due to the riding or sliding motion of the driving chain or belt 216 on the fixed sheave 204. The thread guide 213 proper is caused to pivot with the pin 214 by rotation of the sheave 215 due to the corresponding sliding moton of the chain or belt 217 on the sheave 206 which is fixed to the bearing 205. FIG. 2 also shows by dot-dash line part of a circular are 234 representing the corresponding travel path of a thread guide secured to a one-piece crank-shaped rod according to the weft-filling device of my aforementioned copending application.

The main advantage of the invention in the instant application is that the acceleration of travel of the thread from the weft reversal points to the center of the fabric web width is much smaller than for a circular travel path and that, as a consequence thereof, the forces exerted on the weft being filled therefore become significantly smaller. In addition, an advantage is provided by the invention of the instant application in that the thread guidance system is completely counterbalanced so that the only noncounterbalanced mass is the thread proper. In summary, the invention of this application affords the possibility of increasing the weft-filling speed and thereby increasing the stitch forming speed in the Warp knitting machine.

I claim:

1. Warp knitting machine having a zone wherein knitting needles are disposed and means for supplying warp threads to the'needles comprises device for filling a weft having holder members for making the weft ready outside the needle zone, said holder members being disposed in the vicinity of weft reversal locations and being rotatable in closed travel paths, means for guiding the weft to the warp threads, and a thread guide cooperating with said holder members for making the weft ready, said thread guide being displaceable in the closed travel path of one of said holder members and being located at one end of a rod shaped in the form of a crank and having a bearing portion located adjacent the other end thereof about which said rod is rotatable, said rod being of hollow tubular construction at least at said bearing portion thereof and being formed of at least two parts angularly adjustable relative to one another.

2. Warp knitting machine according to claim 1 wherein each of said rod parts has a drive mechanism connected thereto for rotating the respective rod parts, said drive mechanisms being coupled to one another.

3. Warp knitting machine according to claim 1 wherein said rod has an inner part and an outer part connected at one end to said inner part, said outer part having a free end, said thread guide being articulatingly connected to said free end and extending angularly therefrom.

4. Warp knitting machine according to claim 1 wherein said thread guide is located at a free end of one of said rod parts and is bent at angle to and pivotable relative to the center of said closed travel path of said thread guide.

5. Warp knitting machine according to claim 1 including drive means for rotating said rod parts, and a drive mechanism for pivoting said thread guide about an axis located at said one end of said rod, said thread guide drive mechanism being coupled to said drive means for said rod parts.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,924,649 8/1933 Morton 6687 2,000,643 5/1935 Morton 66-125X 2,452,579 11/1948 Lambach 66-84 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner 

